Passengers describe terror aboard Indonesia AirAsia flight

Passengers on an Indonesia AirAsia flight coming from Australia to the holiday island of Bali described a panicked flight crew announcing an emergency in addition to also oxygen masks dropping coming from the ceiling after their airliner lost cabin air pressure in addition to also rapidly descended.

Flight QZ535 returned safely on Sunday to the airport at Perth city where many of the 145 passengers spoke to media about the fear in addition to also confusion on board.

“The panic was escalated because of the behavior of staff who were screaming, looked tearful in addition to also shocked,” passenger Clare Askew told reporters.

“at that will point, I get the idea, although we looked to them for reassurance in addition to also we didn’t get any, we were more worried because of how panicked they were,” Askew added.

The budget Indonesian airline said in a statement the pilot turned back “following a technical issue to ensure the safety of passengers.”

“We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely in addition to also complying with standard operating procedure,” AirAsia Group head of safety Captain Ling Liong Tien said.

“We are fully committed to the safety of our guests in addition to also crew in addition to also we will continue to ensure that will we adhere to the highest safety standards,” he added.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, an accident investigator, said the idea was investigating the airliner’s depressurization at 34,000 feet (10,363 meters).

The plane rapidly descended to around 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), an altitude to which cabins are pressurized in addition to also at which oxygen masks are no longer needed.

Data coming from FlightRadar, a website which tracks flights globally using GPS, shows the plane descended 23,800 feet (7,250 meters) from the space of nine minutes.

Perth Airport said in a statement that will emergency services were on hand when the plane landed 78 minutes after the idea took off.

A passenger named Leah told Nine Network television: “I actually picked up my phone in addition to also sent a text message to my family, just hoping that will they might get the idea.”

“We were all pretty much saying goodbye to each additional. the idea was genuinely upsetting,” she added.

“There was no real panic before that will, then everyone panicked,” Bailey added.

Passenger Norman Pearce told Seven the flight crew said: “Emergency. Crash positions in addition to also that will was the idea. Nothing for about 5 minutes in addition to also then the oxygen fell down.”

Peter Gibson, spokesman for Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Australian industry regulator, said the airline had been asked for information on what occurred on board.

“Our job as the regulator can be to gather information on these sorts of events in addition to also review that will to see whether we’re satisfied that will everything was managed properly in addition to also determine whether we should dig any deeper,” Gibson said.

A Malaysia-based AirAsia X flight coming from Perth to Kuala Lumpur turned back in June after one of the Airbus 330′s engines failed. An aircrew member was criticized for suggesting that will passengers pray.

In December 2014, an AirAsia flight coming from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 162 passengers in addition to also crew on board.

Indonesia AirAsia said passengers on the Sunday’s aborted flight had been transferred to the next available flight in addition to also “provided with all necessary assistance.”

“The safety of passengers in addition to also crew can be our priority,” the airline said. “AirAsia apologizes to passengers for any inconvenience caused.”